Investigating the incidence of complications caused by common national vaccinations in children and infants in Shahrood city

With a national vaccination program, we have achieved success in the prevention of infectious diseases in the community especially in children. Despite this great success, the side effects of vaccination may not encourage some people in the community to get vaccinated. In this study, we investigate the prevalence of common side effects of vaccination in Shahrood city.

This study investigated the incidence of complications caused by vaccination in infants and children under seven years old in Shahrood city in a 5-year period from April 2016 to March 2020. We collected demographic and clinical information, by referring to the health centers and complications recorded after routine vaccinations such as fever, rash, diarrhea, swelling and other complications of vaccination were collected.

Findings Among the 429 registered complications between 2016 and 2020, most complications were related to pentavalent and trivalent vaccines. Among the registered complications, high fever is the most common complication in both term and pre-term groups. (202 cases, 47.1%) other complications included maculopapular rash (59 cases), mild local complications (55 cases), vomiting (41 cases), and continuous screaming (36 cases), respectively. Among these, 123 cases were resolved without treatment, 297 cases were resolved with drug treatment on an outpatient basis, and only  eight cases required hospitalization.

In general, the vaccination program is highly effective despite having limited side effects.  Knowing this information, can increase vaccination in the country.